Set outlet as Timer - Please help

[Pinkskunk]

Hi all genius,

I really hate this Apex Jr, i bought it 2 years ago and just now trying to set it up to use it, only because my Reefkeeper Lite head unit decided to go south after 7 years?

to program the Timer for RKL its quite simple, just common logic and never need a manual. So i was hoping for the same as this Apex Jr, but hell NO !

i just want to throw this in the trash, but it cost me a few hefty dollars, and i cant return it because i bought it 2 years ago.

So, i need your help to program one of the outlet to be a timer with the following very simple straight forward timing:

Everyday of the week, SMTWTFS, i want the outlet to turn on at 5pm Eastern time for 30 seconds, and off for the rest of the day and repeat the same the next day, and repeat into the infinite future....

with the RKL, i can do this in less than 30 seconds from a virgin unit without even reading the manual. why am i having a hard time doing this with the APex even after reading the darn manual is just beyond me.

i want to do this without having to go into the network and setup and all that. if i have to i will file a grievance with this company and demand my money back.

i thank you for your help and i really really really appreciate it.

[kurt_n]

...
i want to do this without having to go into the network and setup and all that. if i have to i will file a grievance with this company and demand my money back. ...

Really? Let me get this straight... you don't want to set it up, but you want to program it? How exactly do you expect to do that if you haven't even set it up? And you expect people that like Neptune to help you after that outburst?

Multiple people here could tell you the coding but if you're not even willing to set it up, I'm not sure what good it would do. Just an FYI... if you're looking at time intervals under 1 minute, read up on the OSC command. That command will get you down to the seconds. Using the "If Time..." commands will only allow you a minimum of one minute increments.

Rather than trying to return it to Neptune, post it up on the For Sale forums here. Pretty sure you'll be rid of it in no time flat.

[Pinkskunk]

Hi Kurt,

yes i do not want to have to hook it up to a laptop and all that bs, why cant this company KISS like DA RKL for people like me? here is how the RKL work; hold the controller in your hand, go to Timer and tell it what day you want it to run, time to start, how long and if you want osc or repeat, assign the Outlet to the Timer and then you are done, basically 3 steps procedure.

So yes, i dont want to set it up, but i want to program it and it is VERY doable with the RKL. I paid for this Apex Jr almost TWICE for what i paid for the RKL and i am not liking it 1 bit. this is the reason i gave up 2 years ago. today i had to because the RKL head died on me.


case in point, here is the very statement from the Apex manual regarding programing the OSC (equivalent of Timer on the RKL)

"The oscillate, or OSC statement is one of the most confusing of all the Apex commands."

there you have it, they said it themselves.

[Pinkskunk]

back to the issue at hand, i would like to program outlet 3 (currently default to pump by Apex) the function has something like the following:

Off Time
On Time
Off TIme

what do i set for these parameters when i want a 30 seconds On at 5 pm, once, for each day and repeat the same tomorrow and the entire week.... there are many zeros to each time above and the first 3 digits can be set to 999.

[kurt_n]

I can pretty much tell that you're never going to like the Apex, so in all honesty I would just buy another RKL since that's what you're used to and sell the Apex. There are plenty that will take it off your hands.

The Apex is not an RKL (thank God), and therefore you shouldn't expect it to program like one. Don't get a cat and complain that it doesn't act like a dog.

Regarding your issue, like I said, to program anything less than one minute you'll need the OSC command. Yes it is more complicated than other commands, but that doesn't mean it takes a rocket scientist to figure it out - it just means the other commands are that easy. If you wanted the outlet on for a minute... that's a different story and can be done simply with a single "If Time..." statement. But the 30 second deal will require multiple lines of code which are entered using the "advanced" programming mode and not using the wizards. I honestly have no idea if you can do "advanced" programming using the display unit and if you can, *that* will more than likely frustrate you more. I've always programmed the unit from a PC, which makes use of the product the way it was intended to be used. Maybe someone else will chime in on using the display to program, but seems like most folks these days don't even run using one.